Yasiel Puig reverses his guilty plea in illegal gambling investigation

Yasiel Puig, a former MLB player mainly with the Los Angeles Dodgers, had agreed to plead guilty in a US federal court. He initially pleaded guilty to charges of lying to law enforcement officials about illegal sports betting.

However, the right infielder recently released a statement via his legal representatives stating a reversal. He is withdrawing from his agreement to plead guilty to accepting money from illegal sports bets.

As per federal reports, Yasiel Puig started placing bets on sporting events in May 2019 through a third party person. This person worked on an illegal gambling operation headed by Wayne Nix, a former Minor League Baseball player. Yasiel suffered losses in excess of $280,000 within a month. He paid off $200,000 before getting access to place additional bets.

In January this year, Puig was interviewed by agents for his alleged involvement. However, he then claimed that he had no hand in illegal bets and only knew this third party person through baseball. In a WhatsApp voice message, he said that he had agreed to plead guilty in court. Federal agents also found bank statements between this third party agent and Puig.

But in another turn of events, Puig has gone back on this agreement:

“I want to clear my name. I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.”

Yasiel Puig's attorneys claim mental health issues for previous guilty agreement

Yasiel Puig - Philadelphia Phillies v Cleveland Indians

According to Yasiel Puig's attorney Keri Axel, Puig's acceptance of the charges was due to psychological issues. This was prevalent at the time of the interview, and was also caused by other issues stemming from his time in Cuba. Here's what Axel said:

“At the time of his January 2022 interview, Mr. Puig, who has a third-grade education, had untreated mental-health issues, and did not have his own interpreter or criminal legal counsel with him."

Axel continued:

"We have reviewed the evidence, including significant new information, and have serious concerns about the allegations made against Yasiel. Given his history growing up in authoritarian Cuba, government interviews are triggering and only worsen his ADHD symptoms and other mental health struggles, for which he is in treatment.”

Puig also took to Twitter to clear his name. He thinks that the media has tarnished his name for no good reason:

"I don’t know why people like to say bad things about me and believe it. They like makings me look like a monster because of way I looks maybe. All my life’s I been told to be quiet and do what I was told. No mores."

We will keep you updated as to what happens next in this ongoing saga.